I grew up with cast-iron cookware. When I became and adult, I found more expensive cookware and thought it must be better. When my grandmother died I inherited "Old Smokie" -- the family heirloom cast-iron skillet and my eyes were opened to the wonders of cast-iron cooking, but first a word about "Old Smokie" ...

My father grew up as a poor child on a small farm in Arkansas. This father (my grandfather) died when my father was only 6 years old. Times were very hard. One of the things that the family drew on for strength and comfort was their religion. One Sunday they were on their way home from church in the family wagon when they saw smoke in the distance. Soon they met a man riding a horse toward them. My grandmother ask if he knew where the smoke was coming from and he said, "Well, I'm 'fraid I have to tell ya, it's comin' from your house." That day their home burned to the ground. There were only two items that remained in tact through the fire. "Old Smokie" was one of them.

But back to this griddle. Several years ago I decided that we needed a griddle and went shopping. I selected a cast-iron, two burner version that can be reversed and used as a grill. I've used it almost daily ever since.

It's easy to clean in soapy water with no need to worry about scratches from scrubbing. And best of all, cooking on cast-iron is very healthy.

One thing to keep in mind, you do need to pre-heat it before you can get that "grilled" effect or make golden pancakes.

For breakfast, my family loves buckwheat pancakes with peanut butter and pure organic maple syrup that I cook on this griddle. For dinner they go for the grilled Italian veggies that I cook on the grill side.

I hope you'll enjoy yours' as much as we do.

Cast-Iron Grill/Griddle is available online at Amazon.com

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